The Uke Flu - Free!
by Princesa andrmeda
Summary: [On hiatus, in urgent need of rewrite and a better summary]
1. Drunk mistake (Reigisa)

Hey there! I'm coming here with, what will be my first fanfic in english, I'm not that much of a great writer, so I beg you, _please_ bear with me.

First thing, the person who came with the idea of 'The Uke Flu' is Cerberus revised, who allowed me to make a Free! Version of it.

Second, a great part of this is going to be Reigisa because I haven't tought of the other shipping's plot. It's going to be some kind of AU where everyone is already in college.

 **Cerberus:** If you ever read this, I hope this reaches your expectations, if not, I apologize deeply. As I said before, I'm not really accustomed to writing in another language that is not spanish. But that doesn't mean I'm not up for the challenge, I like to push myself. Therefore, I asked you to allow me to write this, to test myself. (Or something along those lines.)

With nothing else to say, enjoy!

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 _"…when the world starts spinnin'_

 _and we start sinnin'_

 _I begin to realize_

 _You look better when I'm drunk..."_

 _-"_ You look better when I'm drunk _"_ The White Tie Affair.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Oh please…" the blond asked "it'll be just this once. We've worked so hard, let's go out just tonight, we can study all day if you want afterwards."

"Nagisa-kun, tests are around the corner. We cannot afford to go out. Especially, _not to drink._ We ought to study so we can pass with good grades. If not, how will you ever get a good work?" Rei asked, exasperated that his friend could not understand that. But, if he tought about it more deeply, taking a break didn't sound like that much of a bad idea, after all, breaks are often needed to get a more clear head and stuff like that.

He sighed and looked to his friend, who was giving him an expecting look. "Fine, we'll go this once," the blond was about to hug him, but before he could do so Rei spoke "but only if you promise to do well in tests."

"Of course!"

"It's settled then," he pushed his glasses "finish your physic exercises and prepare yourself, I'm going to investigate a little about where is the best place to drink."

"Awww I was hoping you could help me."

"You're smart enough to solve those, I'll be back within' an hour."

"Ok."

The blue-haired boy smiled and left the room silently, Nagisa stared firmly at his study sheet, as if solving the greatest enigma in the globe. After a few minutes of doing this, he actually paid attention to the problems in front of him.

Rei was right, he was smart enough to solve that, his asking for help was only an excuse to spend more time with him. Ever since graduating high school he discovered He had a crush for his best friend, therefore, he wanted to spend more time with him, even if all they ever did was study boring physics. He sighed as he finished the last problem and headed to his bed where he layer down for a moment, closing his eyes. He then studied the dorm, his bed, in comparison with Rei's, was a huge mess, the sheets were spread all over the mattress and his pillow had dry drool.

Night arrived soon and before they knew it they were already heading to the nightclub, it's name was "Siniestro", soon they entered through a tall, dark door. They walked to the bar where a Latino-looking guy was attending his clients.

"Excuse me," Nagisa spoke first "I'll have a vodka, and my friend…" he then turned to the taller one "What will you have, Rei-chan?"

"Oh, no thank you, I don't drink."

"Make it two vodkas, please."

"Why did you do that?!"

"Because tonight is supposed to be fun."

"And getting drunk is your idea of fun?"

"Well, yeah." He sighed and handed him the recently-arrived drink. "It's just this once, it won't kill you. So drink it up!"

Rei stared at the glass doubtful, like it might indeed kill him, he took a sip and made a face at the burning sensation running down his throat, it felt weird yet not disgusting at all, it was strangely pleasant. With that newfound knowledge he took another, a little larger sip, Nagisa smiled with pleasure.

"There. It wasn't so bad, was it?" The other shook his head. The music was booming and echoing in the walls. Nagisa smiled and took his friend's hand, dragging him to the dance floor. "C'mon Rei-chan, let's dance!"

When they arrived near the center, the crowd was so dense they had to stay close so they wouldn't get lost. They were so close that they were practically brushing with each other. But Rei didn't seem to mind, neither Nagisa, so they didn't stop.

They were soon breathing hard and returned to the bar, where the ordered a refill of their drinks. Only with said liquid in had did they return to the dance floor. Their minds already foggy with alcohol. They didn't notice they had had already five rounds. Nagisa braced his arms around the taller boy's neck, his breath striking Rei's ear.

"I want you, Rei." In his alcoholic state he didn't realize right away what he has just said. But when he did, he tensed. He was wide-eyed with impression. He was preparing himself to apologize, he looked up at Rei and found himself mesmerized by his purple orbs "Rei…" He ventured carefully, only to have himself cut out by a pair of hot, alcohol-wet lips pressing against his own, after a few seconds he felt a tongue trying to invade his mouth.

That did it.

The world around him suddenly melted and time stopped to make sense to him. He accidentally dropped his drink on Rei's shirt, leaving it vodka-scented. He held onto him for dear life, his legs flailing and his head loosing the last bits of sobriety he had left, if at all. He was feeling light-headed and closed his eyes to enjoy even more the sensation.

They parted away when their heads started to ache from the lack of air, they breathed heavily and slowly. Nagisa felt a need to lean his head against Rei's chest, to which the blue-haired boy didn't complain at all.

They went back to the bar and, as they could, they paid for their drinks. They headed to the exit and walked to their dorm, they walked to the corridor and Nagisa felt himself being pinned to the wall and Rei kissing him, he didn't resist, instead, he buried his fingers deep in those blue locks he loved so much.

Unconsciously, he started moaning, which only increased Rei's arousal, they stumbled to enter their bedroom. Between kisses and caresses Nagisa managed to get rid of his shirt and his pants, Rei got away just long enough to get himself undressed and then proceeded to start suckling the blond's neck; everything from then on became blurry for Nagisa, his mind turned off. He did not think, he felt. He felt Rei's mouth and Rei's hands through his body. He could do nothing but moan.

That night, they became one.

The next day, they said nothing to each other about the previous night. Neither the next, nor the one after that one, nor a week, nor a month.

After a little while, Nagisa suddenly felt exhausted, school was only getting heavier, so he assumed it was normal, but he started worrying when one morning he woke up only to start vomiting, Rei noticed.

"Are you okay, Nagisa-kun?" He asked. "Do you need me to take you to the infirmary?"

"It's ok Rei-chan, I probably ate something rooted yesterday, I'll ask Gou-chan to come with me, you have your final tests today, don't you?" The taller one nodded "don't bother then, those are important."

"Fine, but if anything is wrong, please tell me."

"Of course."

Nagisa and Gou walked inside the hospital and went into the waiting room, nurses walking in and out of rooms, the smell of antiseptic hit the blond and somehow he felt dizzy. That sat on the nearest bench.

"Hazuki Nagisa-kun?" Nagisa almost jumped at the sound of that voice, it was very similar to Rei's, had he come all the way to check up on him? No. The answer was no. When they turned to see who it was, they saw a tall, light brown-haired doctor looking their way. Both teenager went his way and bowed as a salute. "It must be you," he pointed Nagisa "my name is Irie Naoki*"

"Nice to meet you Irie-sensei" they said at the same time.

"Would you mind passing?" He shook his head and made his way into Irie's office. "I'm gonna draw some blood from your arm and make some tests, ok?" Nagisa nodded.

Nagisa did as Irie-sensei ordered, sitting still when ordered and waiting a few minutes until the results were ready. When they saw him returning with them, looking wide-eyed at the sheet, they knew something was wrong.

"Please sit." They sat in front of his desk, waiting for him to talk. "I'll ask you some questions. Have you been exhausted recently?" Nagisa nodded "Have you felt abdominal ache?"

"Hmmm, now that I think about it, yes."

"Ok, Cravings? Mood swings?"

"Pretty much only strawberry -which is normal in me- and I do not think I have neither of those." He shruged. With each question Bagisa was feeling more anxious.

Irie furrowed his brow and stared at him calmly. "It might be hard to believe, Hazuki-kun, but you are pregnant."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

And I'm done writing for today, I'm sorry uf it was too short but it's only a start.

AN: Irie Naoki is a character from Itazura na kiss, his Seiyuu, Daisuke Hirakawa, is the same as Rei's.

Matane!


	2. Well kept secrets (Reigisa)

Argh! It hasn't been long since I posted chapter one and I'm already, somehow, regretting it, I feel like I made it too crappy. Since it was just copy-pasted from word it does look lame (besides me feeling mentally tired). So I'll try to go over the weekend through chapter one and correct some mistakes and re-write some scenes (tough I think I should do that first before posting chapter two, I don't quite know about it)

PS: I don't know if I made it clear last chapter, but neither Free! Or any of its characters belong to me; they are property of KyoAni.

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 _"…As much, as I'd like the past_

 _Not to exist, it still does,_

 _And as much, as I'd like, to feel like_

 _I belong here, I'm just as scared as you…"_

-"Lost in paradise", Evanescence.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

After the initial awkward silence, laughter suddenly filled the room. "Excuse me, Hazuki-kun, but may I ask what is it you find so funny?" Inquired Irie, slightly annoyed by Nagisa's reaction.

"Nothing really, Irie-sensei, just that I never took you for a joker, specially with that serious look of yours, you remind me a lot of my best friend in that aspect," answered the blond as cheerful as if he truly believed that what the doctor had said was only an outburst of senseless humor. After that, he started scratching his cheek and furrowed his brow, deep in tought as he could get "besides, Rei-chan told me many times that it was biologically impossible for men to conceive children, as I have joked about it many times myself." He finished his explanation with a wide smile.

The office remained silent for a few minutes before Irie decided it was his turn to talk. "Just as your friend said, it _was_ impossible, but you see Hazuki-kun, as of recently there is a sickness named MP3REG36, or commonly know as 'The Uke Flu'.""'The Uke Flu'?" This time, it was Gou who asked the question, concerned of his friend's probable condition.

"Yes. As you may know, Hazuki-kun, Matsuoka-san, in all yaoi relationships, there is always an Uke and a Seme, in other, more simpler words, the Uke is the one who is penetrated while the Seme is the one who…"

"I think we already got it." Gou said as she noticed Nagisa's face going pale, as straightforward and indiscreet as he was, he was very timid when it came to sex talks.

"Ok. However, 'The Uke Flu' is a mutation of the male body, it creates a womb in their abdomen and makes it possible to have children." He waited a little for his words to sink in, only when they did, did he continue. "It has three stages, so, if you are already experimenting morning sickness, as you have told me, you must be already in stage three; therefore, the virus must have been inside you little more than three months. Have you been with an infected Uke?"

"…how?" Was all Nagisa could mutter at the time."Well, as far as we know, the first infected Uke, Misaki Takahashi, had recently come from a vacation trip in South America, he was kidnapped and used as an experiment. Apparently, his kidnapper was some kind of medical scientist and created the virus." Nagisa could only stare in atonishment at one unspecified point in his leg, he swallowed hard, his mind finally accepting the tought that maybe something as illogical as what he was being told, might be actually true.

He then, forced himself to look up. "So, you're saying this was the result of a mad scientist's experiment?"

"If you want to think it that way." He cleared his throat and his voice turned a little but more severe "Now, Hazuki-kun, I want to ask you one important question, are you going to keep the baby?" Doubt spread all over the blond's features, he hadn't tought about it, now, in his university life, was too soon to be thinking about raising a family. "You might want to discuss it with your Seme."

 _His_ Seme?! Magenta eyes went wide at the statement, he shook his hand before him in negation "Rei-chan and I… we're not… a couple or anything like that…" now was the doctor's turn to look surprised.

"I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood things, my mistake." Irie apologized.

"Nothing to worry about, Irie-sensei, after all, you might think they are _indeed_ a couple from the way Nagisa clings to Rei-kun all the time." Nagisa could only blush at his friend's words "Anyway, I think we better head back, we already took too much time from your schedule, I'm sure you're busy."

"Ok then, come back when you have the answer, Hazuki-kun, have a safe trip."

"Thank you, Irie-sensei." They both bid goodbye and headed towards the train station.

Once they arrived they sat at a bench and watched the people across them climb onto their respective transport. "Do you plan on saying something to Rei-kun as of yet?" Asked Gou, cautiously.

"I don't know, Gou-chan, you know how attached he is to science and stuff like that, he wouldn't believe it." Said the blond, with a sad sight. "Besides, it's not like he should care, I mean, why would he, anyways?" He shrugged and stared at the thin air, as if trying to clear the mess inside his mind.

" _Because_ he is your best friend, he _will_ care," the red-headed girl stood up, putted her hands on her hips and stared at her friend, infuriated at his hopelessness "and I think he will try to help you out through this. You should trust him."

"He doesn't have to take care of it, it's not like it's his responsibility or something." Gou sighed at Nagisa's response.

"Well, if you say Rei-kun is the father then he _does_ have responsibility in all this." Nagisa blushed, only then had he realized that he had, unconsciously, acknowledged Rei as the other parent (not like he had gotten engaged in _those_ situations with anyone else, anyways). Nagisa's eyes started to moisture as he imagined all the possible rejection scenarios, none of them were very polite, by the way. "Don't start crying now, Nagisa, I'm not going to baby you and you know it. Whatever the circumstances were you've gotta confront them _as an adult_. Period." She hadn't meant to be rough, but she had to, or either Nagisa would've started crying non-stop, and she, as everyone else, hated to see the bubbly blond with a sad face. "I'm sure you'll get through it, you're a strong person, Nagisa-kun." Then, the train arrived, ending whatever conversation they could've had.

Rei was never a person to give a subject more attention than it deserved. Or at least, that applied to any subject but Nagisa and swimming; ever since meeting the blond, his world had changed, for the better mostly. He had learned the deep value of friendship and also found one of the greatest mysteries he would ever encounter through his life. His friend was a subject worth a thousand scientific journals and not even with millions of days of studies would he ever discover his every secrets. Or at least, that was what he had tought once.

Rei discovered that, whenever the blond was near, his heartbeat would increase, his voice would tremble nervously and he would find himself pushing up his glasses more times that he could ever remember. After looking in books, browsing through the internet and —much to his embarrassment— talking about it with his Senpais. In the end, after all the thought he gave into it, he concluded this could only mean one thing: physical attraction.

He feared not the idea that he might possibly be homosexual, nor the fact that he started having romantic feeling towards his best friend, but _oh_ how he feared the idea that the sentiment might not be returned. Every time he tought about it, he would feel a piercing pain go through his chest, just like a little, ice-cold dagger making its way to Rei's heart. As he had read in many, well informed, trustworthy knowledge sources (Ahem, aka: Shōjo manga he hid very well under his mattress, little did he know that Nagisa read every single volume he had and was very aware of his secret hobbie), he ought to confess. If not, he wouldn't ever know if his feeling were returned, and he knew very well from his Shōjo mang… err his knowledge sources, that never knowing his romantic interest's feelings was way worse than being rejected, so, in order to put an end to all that anguish suspense, he had planned a perfect confession, he would've had taken Nagisa to a fun theme park and, in some sort of wheel of fortune, when they were at the top of it, he would talk about his undying feelings for the blond. It would've been beautiful and they would've lived happily ever after.

Or at least, that's what _would've_ happened if he hadn't screwed up like he did.

Because he was sure he screwed up.

Ever since that troublesome day, he hadn't talked to Nagisa unless it was necessary, and that was something to worry about.

He had also deducted, through observation, that his blond friend was having severe abdominal aches, he might think he hid it well, but Rei's eyes were the hardest ones to fool. That aside from the extreme exhaustion, almost to the grade where the pink-eyed boy wasn't being his bubbly usual self. Ot at least so tought Rei.

He scolded himself for the hundredth time that day for being thinking of his friend, again. And tried to focus on his homework. But his concentration was quickly broken by the sound of an opening door, which indicated the arrival of his roommate.

"Welcome back, Nagisa-kun, how were things at the hospital?" He asked, trying not to sound too worried, or his friend would suspect of him.

"Things went… well, I think." Now, 'well' wasn't his normal answer. "The doctor said it was probably exhaustion from my overworking myself." It was a lie. Rei knew that much.

Why would he need to lie to him?! Had he gotten some kind of unknown disease that was incurable at the time?! Or maybe a cronical, slowly-degrading one?! Had that sentence been his last breath?! How much time did he had, anyways. Day? Hours? A few seconds? Maybe, if he putted enough effort into it, he could find a way to… wait a minute, he was making rushed conclusions, he needed to take a deep breath and talk calmly with his friend.

"Is something the matter, Nagisa-kun?" He asked, worry too evident in his voice. The other one just shook his hands in front of him, saying a mimic 'no'.

"It's nothing, Rei-chan." Assured the blond.

There was wary silence between them. Both knowing something was off. Both fearing the reaction of the other.

"If nothing's wrong, as you say, you might want to come study, finals are coming soon." Rei smiled warmly and patted the space on the desk right beside him, Nagisa sat at his side and opened the physics book, flipping through the pages and occasionally taking notes on it.

It had gone like that for a few hours before it grew dark, then, Rei decided it was best to call it off. "I think we did enough for today, Nagisa-kun." He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "Let's go to sleep."

Nagisa nodded, somehow timidly. "Can I…?" He started, not daring to finish the sentence.

"What is it, Nagisa-kun?"

"Can I… sleep with you tonight?" Rei opened his eyes wide, this he had not expected. "There, I knew it sounded stupid, sorry to bother you…"

"I guess you can." He said, scrubbing with his left hand the back of his neck.

"What?"

"I said you could, Nagisa-kun, only let me make it more comfortable, one minute please." Nagisa watched, slightly amused, as Rei re-accommodated the covers and sheets of the bed and got his penguin plushy pillow from the tornado leftover that was his bed.

After the purple-eyed boy finished with his obsessive-compulsive attack of order and cleaning freak, Nagisa got into the bed and rolled a few times in it before it was now a little messy, he then patted to his side, inviting Rei to come over.

Rei doubted no longer than two seconds and got inside if the covers, engulfing both himself and the little blond besides him; even tough they were just inches away, the taller one felt as thus was not enough, and, as if Nagisa was reading his thoughts, he felt two arms wrap around his torso and connect in his upper back, he could only respond by wrapping his own around the shoulders of the smaller one and bringing him closer. Nagisa inhaled the sweet scent of Rei's clothes.

"Nee, Rei-chan?" He whispered.

"What is it, Nagisa-kun?"

"Can you promise me one thing?"

"Hmm?"

"Will… will you stay with me, no matter what?"

"Of course, you can count with me."

"Thanks. Good night, Rei-chan."

Rei felt the blond relax in his arms and slowly drift to sleep, and, when he tought Nagisa wouldn't notice, he placed a tender kiss in his forehead, feeling closer to him than ever.

"Sweet dreams, Nagisa-kun." And then, he got himself to sleep.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ok, so I wanted this super sweet, heart-warming scene between Rei and Nagisa before dropping the bomb; I'm just not ready to write his reaction as of yet, I still want it to remain a mystery for a bit longer. But know that he will know, just not in next chapter, because chapter three is going to focus on… *drums playing* ¡RinTori! I wasn't sure about this whole thing, if I should make RinHaru, SouMako and MomoTori, or either MakoHaru, SouMomo and RinTori. But, as you might have already notice, I have a special weakness for Shark boy and pretty boy being together.

I probably already bore you, so I'm just gonna say: See you next watery time…

Matane!


	3. Broken promises (Rintori)

Ok sooo… here's chapter three! We'll start with RinTori from now on. I was like _really_ doubting if the shippings should've stayed like that, some voice inside my head whispering ' _Rin and Nitori aren't meant to be_ ', of course some fanfics convinced that voice otherwise… and it ended up being ReiGisa, RinTori, and soon MakoHaru and SouMomo.

I haven't totally planned the plots for MakoHaru and SouMomo, can anyone tell me if they want Makoto pregnant instead of Haru? I don't know, I just feel like Haru is this super cautious Uke who took the vaccine before making the mistake and Makoto more than willing to carry on the baby. So, any comments? (I feel like a fool playing author T-T).

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" _It's not like you, to say sorry,_

 _I was waiting on a different story,_

 _This time I'm, mistaken_

 _I'm forgetting you were over-breaking…_ "

-"How you remind me", Nickelback.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

" _It will only be sex without any kind of feelings or sentiment towards each other. Pretty much 'friends with benefits'_." That had been the deal.

And Nitori had been the first one to break it before it even started.

Aiichirou was no stranger to the redhead's unrequited crush towards Nanase. He was, actually, the one who heard Rin cry every night ever since he had been rejected by the silent boy; so, when he proposed the plan to his senpai as a form of getting over Haruka, the other had accepted almost immediately.

Of course he would. Like, who would reject something of the sorts being offered to you in silver plate?

At the moment, Rin had felt broken-hearted, but not because his heart belonged to the black-haired boy, did it mean he could not get laid with anyone else he wanted, some kind of voice inside his head had said 'Why not?'.

Nitori felt his whole world stumble down while he had his head in his knees, sitting besides his bed as he clenched the paper that told him that, what he had once given out as an impossible when he was a kid, was now actually happening to him. Right there, right then.

It seemed that he would carry a part of his beloved upperclassman in his belly.

As sentimental as Nitori was, the idea had appealed quite beautiful to him; to have such a miracle of science being inside him and also it coming from the person he cared the most for. He had resolved to tears. At first, of felicity but, as minutes went by and a voice in his head suddenly appeared and told him that his senpai would not feel the same way about that little miracle; then the once joyous water diamonds had converted into cascades of heart-braking sobs. What would Rin think of the whole situation?

At first, to him the answer was more than obvious, there had been an agreement about no feelings involved. It had been for the sake of the redhead's mental sanity, a physical way out of his emotional breakdown, a form of release. He had know from the very beginning that he would only play the role of a sex toy, a replacement. Yet, he found himself eager to belong to his senpai, even if it was only sexually, even if the name Rin moaned as he reached his climax was not Nitori's, even if Rin's Heart could never, _ever_ belong to him…

He climbed onto his mattress and laid there, not wanting his thoughts to betray him more than they were already doing; he saved the clinic test results in the drawer besides the bed, he looked up to the ceiling of the room he shared with Rin. He and the redhead had rented an apartment and because they already had stable jobs, they could handle just finely together, up until now.

Nitori let out a tired sight, hoping that his negative thoughts wouldn't give the baby some kind of complex or trauma. He guided his hand from under the shirt and started rubbing his slightly muscular belly (tough that was bound to change as months went by) and, in a low soothing voice, almost like a lullaby, he started talking. "Hey there, little you. I'm going to be your… err mom I guess, I have heard that I should start talking to you so you could get accustomed to my voice, what do you think?" Something inside him felt only sweetness and the same ever-growing love he had for his senpai; he closed his eyes and passed a hand through his platinum-colored hair.

"I'm sorry that you hadn't come in the most optimal conditions, but know that I will make sure that you are always happy." He smiled. "Now I'm going to sleep if you don't mind, good night little one." His eyes felt heavy and soon consciousness left him, like light would leave a bulb.

The door opened creaking a little and closed with a deaf sound. Rin entered the room in soundless steps and, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed the bulge sleeping in the bed. Or at least the regular rhythm of his chest rising and falling indicated so. Silently he approached, like a shark stalking on his prey; in a matter of seconds he was already sitting on the edge of the mattress and staring into the sleeping boy.

His cheeks were tear-stained, that much he could tell; he also looked thinner, which meant he hadn't been taking care of himself. He sighed an started tracing a path in Nitori's cheeks with his index finger, the smaller one hummed and chuckled at the caress as he rolled over to face the wall, Rin watched amused.

He stared a few more minutes before getting into bed himself, he got closer to the smaller one and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, Nitori, unconsciously embraced his senpai's torso and snuggled against his chest; Rin could only smile and rest his chin into Ai's soft hair, not caring for anything else as sleepiness took the best of him.

His always-set alarm ringed, waking Aiichirou who inched one eye open, then the other, and he blinked until the image in front of him became clearer, the sound of the alarm clock soon died with a thump and a scowl that came from the figure he was attached to; he paid no mind to it and decided to just go back to dreamland… Wait! Just who was he hugging to?! His eyelids now shot open and he almost choked as he gasped. "M…Matsuoka-senpai!"

Rin just blinked sleepily, "Ai?" He yawned. "How many times have I told not to call me that?" He furrowed his brow slightly in irritation.

"I-I'm sorry, Matsuo—Rin-san."

"You're still using the suffix but I guess we'll have to work on that later." He sat an stretched his arms over his head a little, after that, he got out. "Do you want omelet or do you prefer onigiris?"

"Oh, you don't need to worry, I can just buy something in work and—"

"You haven't been eating well, Ai," said boy looked surprised, scared even "you look paler." The look of his eyes was profound as he got near the bed and stared caressing Nitori's cheek for the umpteenth time.

"Then… I guess onigiri are fine."

Rin smiled, pleased, before leaving the room. "Onigiri will be."

He got down immediately to wash the rice and prepare the pans and, within a few minutes, he was already cooking it on a low flame; meanwhile the rice finished, he chopped a few vegetables and added them to the rice. He turned down the stove and after it was cool enough so he wouldn't burn his hands, he shaped the rice into balls. He smirked, and idea popping into his mind; suddenly, the awkwardly-ovaloid-shaped rice, became little, white ducks. Rin smiled at the result and decided that breakfast was ready. "Oi, Ai, the onigiri is ready." He called.

"'Coming." The answer soon followed.

He putted the plates onto the little table in the living room along with green tea, then, when everything looked ready, he waited still, chopsticks in hand in his seat. Nitori got out of the room and made his way towards the table, now he was only meters away from his senpai. He felt sick at the sole sight of food, the now-so-familiar feeling of billie trying to get out o his throat, morning sickness.

"Excuse me!" With only that said, he ran towards the bathroom to unload his already empty stomach.

Rin stood there and scowled a little, partly because he had put so much effort into making a tasty breakfast and he thought it was bad manners to jus puke; meanwhile partly he was worried for his partner. Deciding to go with him and clear out a few things, he stood up an walked the same path Ai had a mere few seconds ago.

The sight wasn't pretty at all, that much was clear but, of course, he wasn't going to say that, it would be disrespectful and not to say hurtful in the least. So after watching for five minutes and realizing this wasn't going to end only with wishing so, he traced circles in Nitori's back, attempting to comfort him, not daring to say anything fearing it might be wrong.

After he felt like the episode was over he slowly and stumbling got up, wiped superficially his mouth and flushed the bathroom, watching it all go through the pipes.

"Ai…"

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Matsuoka-senpai." _There it goes again_. Rin thought. An uncomfortable silence took over the room, neither feeling like breaking it.

"That's it, I'm taking you to the doctor." Said Rin.

"I-It's not necessary." Nitori froze at the word _doctor_ , one of those could easily tell his condition. "Probably I ate something yesterday that made me sick."

"Or probably not." He approached the silver-haired boy and touched his cheeks, only then did he notice that his body temperature was a few degrees over the normal. "You have fever."

"It's not that." He backed off, Rin scowled, slightly mad that Ai didn't trust him.

"I'm taking you to the doctor, whether you want it, or not." With that said, he grabbed Nitori by the wrist and pretty much dragged him all the way to his car and drove to the nearest clinic centre.

They were both waiting in a bench as they were told, half an hour had already passed since they checked Nitori and drew some blood from him to do further and more complex studies; the ticking of the wall clock slowly taking away the ephemeris patience of certain shark-toothed boy, while his partner was hoping time to pass slower, for that to not be happening, he didn't need another paper to tell him what he already knew, one was more than enough of a reason for him to desire a way out of his very own nightmare.

"Nitori-kun? Matsuoka-kun?" A voice called, taking both boys out of their thoughts.

"Over here." They both got up and entered the office, Nitori fearing for the secrecy of his condition; Rin just hoping to get this over with.

The room was neither big nor small, it was fit for a couple of persons, it ha a desk with many doctor utensils, such as a tiny flashlight, a stethoscope and many lollipop-like wooden sticks, as well as a notebook and a pen for writing recipes.

"Please have a sit." Said the doctor, both youth accepted with a 'thank you' the gentleness. "My name is Yami Kaeki, and I was put into your case as soon as the results were done, Nitori-kun."

"' _His case_ '? You mean it's something grave?" Asked Rin, fear creeping into his voice as he spoke.

"It depends entirely on how you look at it, Matsuoka-kun," answered the doctor "for now I can only tell you one thing: it isn't something that will put his life in danger, if he decides to keep it."

"Keep what?" Rin voice changed from paranoia to suspect, all the while Ai stood still in his seat, not daring to look up, not daring to say anything. For it was obvious he knew what Kaeki-sense was talking about.

Said man turned his gaze over the smaller male. "From that look of yours, I assume you have know about it and not told your partner." Nitori nodded.

"Cut off all this secrecy! For god's sake."

The adult sighed, ' _this youngsters, all so impatient_ ' he thought, while handing him an envelope, the one that contained the results. "I believe you might want to see it for yourself, Matsuoka-kun, it seems as if Nitori-kun won't say a word about it."

Silence filled the car, after the talk with Kaeki-sensei, that heavy, uncomfortable atmosphere had filled the mood between them. An neither of them was willing to break it with harsh words nor apologies.

"Since when?" Asked Rin after stopping in a red light .

"Five weeks, I believe."

"And you had known all that time about it?"

"I had suspected it, but barely found out yesterday."

Rin sighed, not knowing what to say, barely keeping himself from exploding at that very moment. He needed to think.

They arrived the apartment and Rin went straight into the kitchen after getting rid of his shoes in the genkan, Nitori followed shortly, stared a little at the redhead and decided to go to the living room instead. He sat on the couch and frowned in confusion when Rin returned to him with curry vegetables and rice. "Eat." He ordered.

Nitori stared in atonishment. "I-I'm not hungry, thank you." The silver head offered a weak smile.

Rin scowled. "Is that how you plan on carrying a life?" When Ai downed his gaze in response, he repeated. "Eat."

"Thank you, Rin-san." Even though of the scowl in his face, he was touched by the redhead's gesture.

"Whatever."

He knew it was going to be a hard road, but at least he was glad Rin stayed with him. He finished his meal with a smile and applauded himself mentally that the food had stayed in his stomach and not all the way through the pipes.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Aaaaaaannnnndddd it's finally done! I didn't thought it would cost me this much to write, it's just that I kept thinking of the future Reigisa chapters (and know that Rei won't know about his butterfly or penguin for a little two or three chapters at most), and I couldn't quite focus in RinTori, so, I'm sorry if anyone thinks I'm just adding some cheap Mexican show drama (I'm thinking that myself), I guess it would be because I've never really faced a situation of the sorts, heh.

In a 1 to 10 scale, how crappy am I writing this thing? Someone please tell me, I'm starting to have a breakdown. Should I quit? Should I continue this madness? Aww man, in getting all sentimental over it. Anyways… I'm looking forward to write the next Reigisa chapter. I'll make an effort to keep this story afloat.

The only thing I have left to say is: see you next water time…

Matane!


	4. Ten centimeters away from you (Reigisa)

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 _"_ _ _[…] And this is where your eyes leave me disarmed,__

 _ _Breaking into a thousand little pieces my most rational part,__

 _ _Little theory converted into a bunch of words, that fly back home on their own,__

 _ _Ten centimeters away from you,__

 _ _Ten years light away from tomorrow,__

 _ _What do exact sciences matter if you and I are like this…?__ "

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

In normal circumstances, Nagisa would've woke up by the feeling of being shaken into consciousness (courtesy of Rei, of course). Unfortunately for him, these were not normal circumstances; instead, he felt a sudden twinge in his stomach and, before he knew it, he was already barfing his dinner from last night, all the way to the toilet. When he finally felt the waves of nausea cease, he got up, wiped his mouth clean and flushed the toilet. He brushed his teeth and walked into the bedroom.

He entered silently, as if not to wake the bulge sleeping in the lower bed, when he was only a few centimeters from glasses boy he just stood there, watching. Staring at unspecific points. He looked somewhere else and his gaze stopped over the desk clock.

4:02 am.

At that hour, only night-time penguin keepers were awake for sure, at least according to Nagisa that is. He sighed to himself and returned his eyes to his friend. He panicked a little when he saw it moving.

"Nagi…sa-kun?" He asked with a sleepy voice before letting out a yawn. "You should get back to sleep, it will affect your everyday activities if you do otherwise." The blonde only hummed an affirmative response then rested aside Rei, feeling his heart race when an arm wrapped around his waist, he decided not to mind it.

The second time he woke up was because of the smell of coffee and toast. He looked a little at his surroundings and smiled, he yawned and stretched. He got up and headed towards the kitchen, where he was met by the sight of a cooking Rei, wearing an apron and smiling gently as he saw the blond.

"Good morning, Nagisa-kun. I was going to wake you up in the moment I finished making breakfast. I hope I didn't trouble you." He flipped the contents of the pan and handed the other one a pair of juice-filled glasses. "Could you please set this on the table, Nagisa-kun?"

"Of course." He did as he was told and stared at the bespectacled boy, awaiting for further instructions.

"I'm almost done with this, Nagisa-kun, you can sit already if you want." The blond nodded and obliged. Rei walked in minutes later, carrying a plate in each hand. "Here," he said, "I hope my pancakes are of your likings." He gave Nagisa a smile and set said food in front of an enthusiastic pink-eyed boy.

"Of course they are!" He exclaimed. "Anything Rei-chan makes sure is delicious!" The blue-haired boy blushed at the compliment and nodded, Nagisa clasped his hands together happily before saying "Thanks for the food!" And digging for the strawberry-flavor-syrup-covered pancakes as he did.

"Slow down, Nagisa-kun," Rei warned. "If you are not careful you may eventually choke on your food."

"Don't woddy, Dei-chan!" Nagisa said with his mouth full. He gulped and sipped down half of his orange juice. "I'm not gonna die over something meaningless like this." He smiled and took another, smaller and more careful bite.

They kept on like that for a few minutes, on a comfortable silence until a beeping sound distracted them for their meals.

"It's my phone," said Rei. "May I answer it, Nagisa-kun? It may be important." The blond nodded and gestured him to go freely, the other one thanked him and went to their bedroom as not to disturb Nagisa. The latter shrugged and continued digging on his pancakes.

"Hello? Makoto-senpai? Yeah. We're doing fine. That's good to hear. Really? Sure, I'll tell Nagisa-kun. Take care, Makoto-senpai. I will, good bye." He hung up and returned to the small table where they were having breakfast. Nagisa was no longer there, but in the kitchen cleaning his dish.

"Oh, you're finished, huh? I already got through my breakfast, hope it didn't upset you." He grabbed a towel near him and dried his hands with it.

"No, not at all." He cleared his throat with a cough and tried to remember what he had to tell the blond, only when it hit did he continue talking. "Nagisa-kun,"

"Hmm?"

"Makoto-sempai called and asked if we wanted to go out with them today." He returned to the table and decided it would be best if he finished his food.

"Of course, we haven't seen Mako-chan and Haru-chan, with how busy they got it's a rarity to talk, let alone hang out now days." He sighed and sat right next to Rei. "I think I should get ready then." He jumped out of his seat and hurried back to his bedroom.

He lifted both hands and __stared__. It was an important decision, no doubt about it. Should he wear the pink shirt with strawberries stamps in it, a yellow, sleeveless jacket? Or was the light blue sweater a better idea?

He needed someone to give him advice. Nagisa nodded and grabbed his phone, punched a number and waited for the person on the other side to answer.

"Nagisa-kun? Is something the matter?" Asked a feminine voice.

"Yes Gou-chan, you're a girl and know about fashion, right?" He clenched the phone in his hands as he talked.

"I think so… why do you ask, Nagisa-kun?"

"I just… erm… kind of need advice…" he explained the whole thing to Gou, and when he finished the girl just sighed.

"So it was just that? I thought you had an emergency going on. By the way, have you told anything to Rei-kun?" The blond stiffened, he knew he should but he just couldn't bring himself to it.

"Not yet, Gou-chan. But I will have to, eventually." He now sighed. It was getting more frustrating, he didn't like keeping secrets from Rei. And he wouldn't be doing so for much longer… he hoped.

"Fine. I suggest the pink shirt and the sleeveless jacket. It was nice talking to you, Nagisa-kun."

"The same applies for you, Gou-chan. Bye~" He hung up and finished the task at hand.

When he got out of the dorm he noticed Rei wasn't there. __Must have gone for a jog…__

He sighed and went to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and grabbed strawberries along with milk. He placed them over the counter for a few minutes, he turned around and grabbed a few kitchen utensils he might need. He started filling the cup with the pinkish fruits and flooded the rest with milk, until reaching the desirable measure. He then capped the cup and pressed "start".

He waited a few minutes and smiled when his smoothie was ready and filled glass he had placed nearby. He grabbed the glassed and sipped, enjoying the bittersweet taste of the strawberry. He licked his upper lip, preventing it from having a milk mustache; he giggled to himself. He lifted his gaze from the beverage because of a __click__ in the door knob, meaning Rei had arrived home.

"Hi, Rei-chan!" He welcomed the other.

"Good afternoon, Nagisa-kun." He took his shoes and left them on the genkan. "You already dressed for our reunion with Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai, I see."

Nagisa turned around for Rei to admire his clothes fully, then chuckled. "Yep! Couldn't contain myself from it." He gave his friend a smile then walked over the counter. "I prepared some strawberry smoothie, do you want some?"

"I appreciate the thought, Nagisa-kun. But you know I'm not very fond of sweets," he adjusted his glasses ever so normal, pretending he wasn't seeing the broken look the blonde was giving him. __Ok, he is just pretending to feel bad, do not fall for it. Do__ ** _ **not**_** _ _fall for it…__

"Awww but Rei-chan," he said, pouting. "It is just one glass it will do you no harm." He made his best puppy eyes and stared at his bespectacled friend, burning holes through him. __Wait for it, wait for it…__

Rei sighed, giving up. Then reluctantly reached for the offered glass. "Fine," that only, was enough to make the pink-eyed boy smile. "But just one sip." He warned, Nagisa nodded and approached closely to his friend.

In the end, not only did Nagisa manage to get Rei to drink a sip of the strawberry smoothie, but the whole glass, along with a few sweets (strawberry flavored, of course). So, after many treats, pouts, sighs and 'this is the last one's, they were finally on their way to the mall. The place where they had agreed to meet their friends.

Nagisa, as childish and hyperactive as he was, went running from one way to another, tiring in over manner Rei and making him wonder, how in the name of whatever existent science could his blond friend do all that without running out of energy. And there he was the previous member of the track team. He wondered if Nagisa had ever thought of joining, with all that stamina of his, he could've won a great deal of medals.

"Slow down, Nagisa-kun. You could trip if you're not careful."

"Don't worry Rei-chan. I'll be fine," he returned to his side. "See? No harm done." He smiled in reassurance. "I know how to be careful, Rei-chan. But it's just sooooo boring." He threw his arms to emphasize his argument. "Besides, it's not as if something has gone wrong, is it?" The blue-haired boy answered with silence. "C'mon, I'm sure Mako-chan and Haru-chan are already waiting for us, shall we hurry?" He smiled again and grabbed Rei's arm.

Not much time passed for them to arrive, when they reached the café's door, Nagisa eyed everywhere in hope to find his childhood friends. It took him less than five seconds to spot them, for it was almost impossible to mistake them. He started waving and screaming "Hey! Mako-chan, Haru-chan!" much to the annoyance of the other clients. He approached dragging Rei along with him. They reached the table and sat.

"Hi Mako-chan, long time no see." He got on the table to reach the brunette and hug him, Makoto had barely time to answer before Rei started scolding the blond.

"Nagisa-kun, you shouldn't get on tables like that, it's bad manners."

"Aww Rei-chan, don't be a party-pooper," he broke the embrace and got back at his seat. Haru stared at both.

He turned to the blond. "Nagisa," then to the one at his left, "Rei." Both boys nodded, taking it as a greeting.

"So," said Makoto, trying to start a conversation. "How have you guys been?"

When the waitress arrived, Nagisa ordered a slice of strawberry shortcake and some sort of chocolate milk shake; Rei asked for some salad and tea, the healthiest thing he found in the menu (though after the waitress had told him they had run out of salad he had to change it to some other dessert available); Haru said he'd have 'anything with mackerel on it' while Makoto asked for a cappuccino and a slice of cheese cake.

"It's nice seeing you after such a long time." Said Makoto, digging into his cheese cake. "And it's also nice to know you're both doing fine." He smiled and sipped his drink.

Time passed, and everyone could say they were having a good time. Between Haru's odd and misplaced comments, and Nagisa's embarrassing tales about their university life, all four of them were laughing their hearts out (well, Makoto and Nagisa were, Rei was too busy being flustered and Haru was way to stoic to do more than crack a smile).

"Yep, and you should've been there when Rei-chan fell asleep in the middle of a chemistry practice. A few experiments exploded and painted Rei-chan's face like a rainbow!" Nagisa said as he threw his arms as if to imitate said explosion.

"Nagisa-kun, could you please abstain yourself from telling such embarrassing anecdotes?" Rei asked for the umpteenth time that evening, but it seemed that the more requested it, the more Nagisa said such things. Soon enough, if not too soon, afternoon faded into evening and the hour for them to part ways was arriving at an alarming pace. It seemed as if an hour was barely ten minutes.

"Well, I think it's already time for us to go back, don't you think so, Haru?" The black haired boy gave a small, almost imperceptible, nod and stood up from his seat. Nagisa, Rei and Makoto followed suit.

Nagisa smiled and wrapped Haruka in a hug. The taller boy did nothing neither to return the hug nor to respond to it in the first few seconds. Almost a minute passed before Haru wrapped his own arms around the slightly smaller figure in front of him.

"Good luck." He said in the blonde's ear before breaking from the embrace.

"Hmm?"

"I said 'good luck', you'll need it with Rei, won't you?" Nagisa had only time to get surprised before nodding. As stoic as Haru was, he was also perceptive and somehow knew what was going on with the blond before even asking.

Makoto approached them, and after only hearing the last sentence he smiled. That classic smile of his. Nagisa nodded once again and took a step back, allowing Rei to say goodbye to his senpais.

"It was nice meeting you, Makoto-senpai, Haru-senpai." He bowed and both boys imitated him. Then, as if reciting a script, Haru said the same thing to Rei that he had said to Nagisa.

"Good luck."

"Huh?"

"Nee, Rei-chan, I think we should also go back to our room."

"Yeah."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 _Hey there! Long time no see, huh? Yeah, sorry about that. It's just that, first I got all this work dumped on me, then I got writer's block, then when vacation started laziness took over. I was planning on uploading this chapter in December 17, Rei's birthday, but then, out of the sudden, all my word documents disappeared -w-… then I was planning on re-writing it and uploading it on Christmas, but it wasn't finished by then. So I took my holy time to finish it and here it is. In any case, I'm really sorry. I hope next chapter doesn't get delayed that much. *faints*_

 **Bringonthefanfic:** thanks for leaving a comment, it was nice:) so the idea will stay like that.

Again, I'm very sorry for the long wait, I hope I can finish chapter 5 sooner, taking 2 week as a longest.

Matane!


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